Bruges- First full day

Today, we did everything Belgian. We bought lace, ate waffles, ate chocolate, ate frites, and drank beer.

This was the BEST Belgian waffle EVER!! They put candi sugar beads in the dough so when it is cooked, the sugar carmelizes and they are pipping hot!

These are chocolate shoes filled with even more chocolate

Entrance to 't Poatersgat (the Monk's Hole)

De Halve Maan Brouweij (The Half Moon Brewery)

You're going to need A LOT of nougat to get it as big as mine!

If you've seen the movie In Bruges, this tower will be familiar.

This is what we saw on our way back to the B&B last night

We zijn in het huis

We started off our morning with Jamie getting sick. We over planned how long it would take us to get to Paris Gare du Nord and ended up being two hours early for our train to Bruges. We needed to change trains in Lille, France. We had no information on where our next train was or how to get there. With the help of the information booth, we found out that the train station we needed was across the bridge. Since English isn't spoken much in Lille, that is where they left it.  They didn't tell us that it was a little over 1/4 mile away. Jamie detoured us to what she thought was the train station, turned out to be a shopping mall. Now with minutes to spare, we took off running. With 25+ lbs. back packs. Once in the train station, no signs to Bruges. The train number to Ostende matched the train number we were supposed to be on so we took a chance and hopped on. After unloading our packs and sitting down, the train departed. We made it in the nick of time. 

We are grateful for English speakers in Belgium. Navigating the bus system not speaking Dutch is not an easy feat. The bus stop happens to be a few meters from the B&B we are staying in. Canal House on Predikherenrei. 

We're in Belgium and it is still raining. Meh, who cares. We're in Belgium!

Deuxième jour

9:00 am, had a French breakfast complete with coffee, orange juice, and a croissant. 

Then hit the streets to seek out La Tour Eiffel. 

Every 30 seconds, Romanian(?) women kept asking us if we a) spoke English and b) if we would sign their petition. I tried to be clever and answer one of the girls in Spanish and she replied with way better Spanish than I could speak.

From there we went to Palais de Chaillot.

Then to Arc de Triomphe. 

We walked the entire Avenue Champs Élysées where we saw Grand Palais, Place de la Concorde, and the Musèe du Lourve. (Not inside)

The above photo does not do justice how far we walked! 

The Lourve was busier than the Eiffel Tower. From there, walked to Pont Neuf

 and then to a metro station to see Sacrè Coeur. 

Take that!

Got off of the wrong stop twice to find the projects of Paris. Climbed stairs to Sacrè Coer that felt like they were a mile long. Saw the church, took some obligatory photos and then made our way down to a nicer part of town and to a metro station. Exhausted we found our correct metro station and made it back to our B&B. 

(Yes, Jared is wearing pants)

This photo was mere moments away from a torrential down pour. The people on the streets scattered like sewer rats. 

Nous sommes à Paris

We made it to Paris. 

We are staying at L'Hotel Particulier on Rue Cremieux. 

As soon as we got here, we walked to Notre Dame. WOW! It is incredible! 

Hey- does any one know why there are locks on both sides of the bridge of Le Sienne to the entrance of Notre Dame? 

We are at a little cafe looking at Gare de Lyon. 

Riding the train in to Paris was very cool. It took 20 minutes to get from London to the Medway where we were staying, which took us an hour 15 to get to from London on a southeastern train, and 20 minutes to go through the English Channel. Once in Callais, the country side was full of rolling hills and small wooded areas, usually containing a home. They grow corn here which is quite surprising. The total time to get to Paris Nord was 2:15.  We saw an Ikea. Wind mills. All of the houses in the country looked like cottages. So beautiful. 

All in all, Paris is beautiful and awesome! 

Dover Castle and Canterbury Cathedral

Today we went to Dover Castle, the White Cliffs, and Canterbury Cathedral. I was extremely impressed with the size of Dover. They had people dressed in period attire and they put on little plays to inform and entertain us. For those who are thinking of coming to England, I recommend getting a Heritage Foundation pass for £22.00. It is good for many historical places and will save you a boat load of money. We didn't know about this until we had already paid £11.00 for Rochester and then another £20/person at Dover Castle. 

I fell in love with the town of Canterbury. It was so quaint. The Cathedral there was awe inspiring to say the least. 

The town of Canterbury

For our last diner in England, Andrew took us to Indian food at this wonderful place called The Monsoon Valley. It was so so so yummy. If you are ever in Kent, visit this establishment. 

On the way to Dover and the way back, we noticed hop fields on the side of the M2 highway. 

I am a bit sad to leave England. We've had such a great time here but we are also really looking forward to the remaining countries in our trip. 

Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral

We took a visit to Rochester Castle, which during the reign of King John, was held against a strike that King John ordered with the accompaniment of many Danish soldiers.  We later found that 20 men held the castle for months against more than 1000 men. I was surprised that the men didn't starve to death. King John wanted this castle because it was the doorway to London. Rochester Castle also has the tallest keep in all of England. He wanted this castle because it was the doorway to London. He lost when the French invaded at the request of the Arch Bishop of Canterbury. 

This is inside of Rochester Castle

Andrew is a great tour guide! 

And right across the road is Rochester Cathedral.  This is the 2nd oldest cathedral in all of England, thanks the the 

Here is a small perspective of the town around Rochester Later in the evening, we went to dinner at the pub with Alex, Andrew, Ian and Marinaiz. It was called The Three Crutches We are having a great time here in England.